May The Best Man Win
by klaroline-heaven
Summary: Driven by his thirst for blood and power, Klaus returns to New Orleans in hopes of reclaiming his kingdom. Needless to say, he is both surprised and angry when he finds out that the girl he raised and fell in love with took his throne. Rated M for eventual smut, language, violence.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! I am back with a new fanfic :) I hope you enjoy it!

I do not have a beta, so forgive me for any mistakes... I would like to thank Leah for the gorgeous cover that she made for this specific fanfic.

May The Best Man Win

Driven by his thirst for blood and power, Klaus returns to New Orleans in hopes of reclaiming his kingdom. Needless to say, he is both surprised and angry when he finds out that the girl he raised and fell in love with took his throne.

Enjoy!

* * *

New Orleans, 1898

The Original Hybrid was furious with his youngest brother. Kol was always reckless and he knew that much, but he didn't think that his brother would lead his family ashtray just because he needed a good shag in.

The chocolate-brown eyed Mikaelson was always the one that bedded women like it was his last day on Earth, but he always put his family first.

As Klaus entered the fifth brothel, his eyes landed on Kol's mop of brown hair.

He growled as he sauntered over to him with his balled fists.

He was about to call for Kol, but stopped when he heard a soft whimper coming from the far corner on the right.

As he snapped his attention towards the cry, he felt time stop. He saw a girl who couldn't be more than twelve. She had blonde curly hair and bright blue eyes that were getting overshadowed by her fear.

Why was a girl so young and innocent in that godforsaken place?

"Please don't," she cried to a man that was four times her size and age.

"Oh, shut up girl!" He shouted.

The little blonde girl shook her head, erratically as she tried to get away from him.

"I paid to have you to myself. I will not have you deny me." He warned her as he leaped at her.

Klaus heard her shrill scream and before he could stop himself he had the man against a wall with his hand against the old man's windpipe.

The man's face was turning purple because he could no longer breathe in normally.

"Nik!" Kol shouted, his trousers around his knees.

Klaus didn't hear his brother as he snapped the man's neck.

As the now dead man crumpled to the floor, Klaus turned to Caroline.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

The blonde's cheeks were tear-streaked as she nodded slowly.

"What is your name?" He questioned.

"Care- Carolina," she replied, unsure of herself.

"Song of happiness." Klaus told her.

"I'm sorry...?" She asked, confused.

"Your name... It means a song of happiness." He verified.

"Oh- I didn't know that." She said as she pressed her bare legs against her chest.

Klaus nodded and shook out of his suit jacket.

He handed it to her and she looked down at it with confusion.

"It will keep you warm, Carolina. You are shaking." He said as he gestured towards her shaky hands.

"I- thank you, my lord." She said as she bowed her head.

"No." He said quickly.

Caroline's frightened blue eyes widened as she waited for a blow.

"None of that, Carolina... I want you to call me Klaus."

"Of course," she answered, quickly.

"Come now," he said as he motioned towards the exit.

"I cannot leave, she forbids me to." Caroline told him.

"Who does?"

"The woman that is in charge if this horrific place."

"Where is she?"

The blonde slouched over and shook her head.

The Original turned away from the girl and his eyes roamed around the room. The sight was absolutely disgusting, he thought as he heard the different sounds coming out from the different men and women.

"Who is in charge of this place!?" Klaus questioned, his voice roaring throughout the room.

"Who's asking?" A girl in her late twenties questioned as she walked over to him, wearing nothing.

"I am, who's in charge?" He asked as his eyes were trained on her face.

"Well, baby boy... That would be me." She said as she closed the space between them.

Klaus backed away in disgust and the girl giggled.

"I want the girl." He told her as he pointed at Caroline.

"And you can have her." She said, gesturing towards the stupid, pathetic girl.

Klaus furrowed his eyebrows and the girl licked her lips.

"On one condition." She added.

"Fine. How much money do you want?" Klaus asked as he took out a wad of hundred dollar bills.

"Oh, I don't want the money." She said as she pulled him closer.

This time, Klaus was the one that laughed.

"Sorry, whore... It is not going to happen." He said before he snapped her neck.

"Nik!" Kol shouted as he quickly made his way over to his older brother.

"Get dressed and get out. You had one job, Kol. One!"

"I never wanted that job!" Kol barked.

"Wooing the governor's daughter will gain you respect."

"How's that?"

"The governor may be human, but he is the most respected."

"I don't care. We can compel ourselves respect. I don't need that unattractive girl."

"All you need to do with that unattractive girl, as you say is shag her and make her fall in love with you."

"No!" Kol shouted, irritated at his older brother.

"I have had enough. Do as you are told or you will suffer the consequences." He warned.

"Don't threaten me, big brother." Kol growled.

"Oh, I'm not… I am just giving you two options. Choose the right one and you get to enjoy the perks of being forever twenty. Choose the wrong one, and well… rot in a box." He shrugged.

"You son of a bitch." Kol said, his voice dripping with venom.

"I am after all a bitch's son." Klaus winked.

The younger Mikaelson pushed past him in a rage as he exited the brothel.

"Now that that's done with..." Klaus said as he walked over to Caroline.

"Let's go, love." He told them as he outstretched his hand for her to take.

Once the two were standing, Klaus led her to the exit.

"What about the other girls?" Caroline asked him, her voice low.

"They can protect themselves." Klaus shrugged.

"No they can't." She sighed, sadly.

The Original looked down at the girl and sighed in defeat.

"Fine..." He said.

Caroline beamed up at him and followed him.

"Listen up!" Klaus told all of them.

When they didn't listen, he huffed in annoyance and walked around the brothel as he picked the men off the women.

"Hey!" One of the guys shouted in his direction.

Klaus looked into the man's eyes and compelled him.

"Get out and take the men with you. Now." He ordered.

The man nodded in a daze as he ordered for the others to follow.

When Klaus was left with all the women, he truly did feel sorry for them. Most of the girls were bruised and battered.

As he cleared his throat, the girls waited.

"Your boss is dead and I am shutting this place down. If you want to leave and start a new life, come forward. If you want to stay, rot away until the end of your days."

Immediately, all of them stood up and came forward.

Klaus took out his wad of cash and evenly distributed it between the fifteen or so girls.

"I am giving you this money, not for your services, but to give you a fresh start."

"Why are you doing this for us?" A girl who looked to be in her late teens asked.

She had fiery red hair and bright green eyes.

"What is your name?" Klaus asked her.

"Sage," she replied.

"Well, Sage... I am doing this for you because of this girl right here." He said as Caroline went to stand by his side.

"Caroline?" Sage said as she looked at the younger girl that she usually guarded.

The blonde girl gave her a small smile and Sage thanked Klaus.

"You're welcome," He said.

"Hey... Can I just ask you something before you go?" Sage asked him.

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Take care of her, please... She hasn't exactly had the greatest childhood and I feel like she will be scarred for life... So please... Take care of her."

"I will," Klaus smiled at her. "Ready?" He asked as he turned to Caroline.

"In a minute." She said before she have Sage a huge hug.

"Let's not get all sappy in here, squirt." Sage said as she winked at the girl.

"I'll miss you." Caroline told her as she pulled away.

"You'll live," she laughed before she nudged Caroline.

"Ready?" Klaus asked her again.

"Yes," she nodded.

* * *

Present:

As the Original walked into Rousseau's, he stopped in his tracks when he heard _her _voice. She still sounded like an angel after more than a century.

Klaus thought that she was dead, but he saw the whip of her blonde curls and heard her angelic voice. The only thing that Klaus regretted it, when he found out that Mikael was after him was that he couldn't take Caroline with him. He wanted to and he mourned her once he was safe in London because he thought that she didn't survive. The Hybrid knew that Mikael left a trail of vampires in his wake, and there were only a few that were turned by Klaus or one of the other Originals.

He slipped into the shadows, and didn't dare breathe. Her voice was like a siren's calling a sailor to his death. If Caroline was to be a siren and he a sailor, he would gladly walk into his impending death just to hear her clearer and see her face.

Still, Klaus did not know why Caroline was currently up on stage, singing. He would think that if she was one of the only vampires that survived his father's wrath would run as far away from New Orleans as possible.

As the song ended, Caroline thanked everybody and jumped off of the stage. She followed her best friend, Stefan to the bar and the two sat down.

"Thierry, get me a glass of bourbon, will yah?" Caroline asked one of her trusted vampires who happened to own the bar.

"Of course," He said as he smiled shyly at her.

Thierry had a crush on Caroline, but he didn't dare to tell her. She was his superior. His ruler. He wouldn't dare put that at stake because of what his heart wanted.

The blonde smiled at him and then turned to Stefan.

"What news do you have?" She asked him as Klaus came out of the shadows.

Caroline still did not see him, but he was listening in on her conversation with the guy that she sat with.

"Word on the street is that one of the Originals is in town."

"Do you know who?"

"That would be me, love." Klaus called out as he walked over to them with his hands behind his back and a smug smirk on his full lips.

"Klaus?" Caroline questioned as her eyes widened, but she quickly returned to her poker face.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" He asked as he kept the wild emotions that were coursing through his veins at bay. He couldn't show her that she was his weakness.

She was as beautiful, if not more as the last time he saw her. Her hair was shorter, but it reached just above her breasts. She still kept her hair naturally blonde. Her curls fell around her face perfectly. She never was one for putting on pounds of makeup. She wore eyeliner and mascara, and that was about it. The only thing that changed about her was the confidence and fire that could be seen in her eyes. Before, when Klaus and his family were around, they wanted her to show her confidence, but she never would. Probably because of what happened to her when she was still a very young girl. After all, being thrown into a brothel at the age of eight and being treated like a possession and not a human had its toll on her.

"Why are you here?" She asked as Thierry handed her the glass of bourbon.

"I would think that the better question would be what it is you're doing here. In my city."

Caroline placed the glass of bourbon on the bar counter and stood up.

Stefan looked over at her with confusion and she motioned for him to leave her alone. Stefan did as she was told and stepped aside.

Klaus' eyes widened when he saw what she wore. She looked like a true ruler in her white lace top and high-waisted black skirt.

She looked absolutely magnificent and he wanted to punch himself in the face for immediately thinking about how she would look, if she was bare.

Both Klaus and Caroline had feelings for one another once upon a time, but they never acted on them. They treated each other like family, but neither one dared to step over the boundary of a physical relationship even though they both wanted it.

"It's my city now." She challenged him with fire in her bright blue eyes.

"Is it?" Klaus questioned, smugly. "I don't remember giving you permission to take what is mine."

"I didn't need your permission. Your papa ran you out of town. Remember?" Caroline questioned. "And it would be best if we set some ground rules right now. What's mine is yours, but it is MINE. It would be best if you remembered that."

"And if I don't?" He questioned, challengingly.

"Cross me and you'll find out." She said before she turned on her heel and motioned for her minions to carry him out of the bar.

Klaus was speechless as her minions obeyed to her rules.

The Caroline that he knew and fell in love with was gone, and in place was a woman craving for power and nothing else.

_She wanted the power? Well, it looked like it was time to play. _He thought.

* * *

There you have it! Now, I know there wasn't much present time Klaroline, but there will be in the next chapter :)

Please Leave Feedback, Ideas, Thought, Theories, and More.

~Hana :D


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! I am back with the second chapter! I hope you like this one because it has a lot of Klaroline :)

I was really blown away by the response, so I just want to thank all of you!

Now without further ado, I give you Chapter 2!

Enjoy :D

* * *

"I can walk out of this bloody bar by myself. I do not need your men carrying me out." Klaus spat in the blonde's direction with anger in his blue-gray eyes.

"Mind your tongue!" Stefan shouted as his hands balled into fists.

The nerve this motherfucker had was unbelievable.

"Maybe you should take your own advice. Stefan, was it?" Klaus questioned as he stared the vampire down.

The two men stared at one another for a good ten minutes before Stefan advanced towards him, but stopped abruptly when he heard Caroline's voice.

"Leave him be." Caroline ordered.

Stefan immediately retreated and Caroline made her way towards the Original.

"These are my people, so it would be best if you knew your place in my city." She told him, her gaze serious.

"You know I can rip your heart right out of your chest, right?" Klaus questioned, his smirk never leaving his lips.

"Is that a threat?" Caroline questioned as her eyes bright blue eyes narrowed at him.

The people that were at Rousseau's were deathly quiet as they listened to their Queen's and the Original's conversation.

"I don't know, love... Is it?" Klaus questioned, cockily.

"That's it!" Stefan shouted as he flashed towards the Original and slammed him into the far wall.

"Take your hands off of me, peasant." Klaus ordered.

"I do not take orders from you." The forest green-eyed vampire responded even though he knew that his life was at stake for going against the strongest vampire in the bar at the moment.

"Maybe not, but if your supposed Queen decides to play ruler of NOLA, people like you will die." Klaus told him.

"Let him go." Caroline ordered.

"I don't take orders from you, sweetheart. Let the men figure this out."

"First off, New Orleans is my home and you are simply a guest. Second off, don't you dare threaten my people. And finally, I'm not the Queen." She said, her voice dangerously low. "I AM THE KING!"

Klaus burst out laughing and she tilted her head at him with disgust in her bright blue eyes.

"I hope you know that if you dare cross me... I will end your existence, permanently." She warned him.

"I'm sorry, but last time I checked. I was the immortal. You know... The one that couldn't be killed?" Klaus said as he smirked at the blonde that stood before him.

He could see that Caroline was starting to get pissed off and he couldn't help but chuckle at that. If a leader got so easily provoked, that leader was bound to be one that could be easily manipulated and that was what Klaus intended to do to reclaim his kingdom.

"Maybe so, but I have something that you don't." She smirked back at him.

"Is that so? I wonder what it is..."

"Well for one, I have loyalty." She told him as she looked around the bar that was full of the people that would give up their lives for her.

"Loyalty is just one thing that I can easily gain." The Original Hybrid shrugged easily as if it was nothing.

"With what?"

"Well, it looks like you haven't been keeping up... I broke the curse, Carolina. I am now-" Caroline cut him off.

"My name is Caroline. Don't you fucking dare call me that." She snapped as she felt her fangs scratch against her tongue.

"Why? Does it remind you of your late childhood? Where you were a bloody whore who fucked whoever if they gave you a single dime?" He questioned even though he knew that it was a subject that Caroline didn't enjoy talking about.

"You know why I did it. You know it! You saved me from that fucking place and now you have the nerve to call me a whore? Listen here, Klaus. I've had enough of you and I am not going to pretend like I am happy that you're here."

"I must admit... You've grown."

"It's been over a century. I am no longer the foolish girl who fell in love with you and wanted you to love me back!" Caroline immediately regretted admitting her true feelings to the Original Hybrid that stood before her.

It was true. Caroline did fall in love with him when she turned thirteen. He treated her with respect and he protected her from anything that might bring back the memory of her godforsaken childhood.

Klaus was taken aback by her sudden confession and they both heard the voices among the crowd.

"SILENCE!" Caroline shouted to her people.

Immediately, silence took over the bar and Klaus backed away.

"What?" He asked her. The both of them both longed for one another when they lived together, but they never acted on it.

"Nothing. What I just said meant nothing." She said before she turned away from him.

Acting on impulse, Klaus pushed the blonde vampire against the wall.

Her people immediately tried to get to their Queen, but Klaus turned to them with his eyes a golden shade and his veins popping out under his eyes.

"Come any closer and I will bite you. My bite is poisonous to your lot so come any closer and lose your life." He warned them.

"You can't seem to understand that we would give up our lives for Caroline. She's a better ruler than you'd ever be." Stefan said as he came closer.

"Don't," Caroline choked out as Klaus gripped her throat tightly.

"But Caroline," he began.

"I said don't, Stefan. I want all of you to leave. Right now." She ordered them as she stared into Klaus' now normal blue-gray eyes.

"Caroline…" Matt started.

"Do not make me say it again, Matthew. Leave now or you will suffer the consequences. All of you. I am not kidding." The Queen of New Orleans told them.

Both Stefan and Matt nodded and they ushered the rest of their lot outside. Only the day walkers were currently outside because it was a sunny day and if the nightwalkers came out, they would surely get burnt in the sun.

When Klaus and Caroline were alone, Klaus removed his hand from her throat.

Pulling away, he studied her face for any sign of the girl that he once knew. There was no visible sign of her, but he believed that she was still in there somewhere.

"That was quite the confession, love." Klaus said once he shook the thoughts of her from his head.

He walked over to the bar and reached for a bottle of bourbon and a glass. Pouring the amber liquid into the glass, he waited for Caroline to speak.

""That confession meant nothing." She reassured him.

"Are you sure about that? It's been over a century… If that confession no longer means anything to you, I have a hard time believing that you would tell me such a thing in front of your people." He replied as he gulped the bourbon down.

He felt the scorching heat travel down his throat and he sighed as he poured himself another glass.

"Want one?" He asked her as he motioned to the empty glass that sat on the bar top.

"No," she snapped as her eyes traveled across his physique.

He looked exactly the same, just more modern and she could tell that he was even more arrogant and cocky than before.

"Why did you return?" Caroline asked him, genuinely curious.

"Well… I got tired of the small town that I was staying in and I just thought… Why not return to the place that I built from the bottom up?" Klaus said dramatically.

Caroline rolled her eyes at him for being such a dramatic and Klaus chuckled.

"So, tell me Caroline… How did you gain power over _my _town."

"First things first, Niklaus. New Orleans is no longer your town or your city or your kingdom. You lost that all the moment you took off running because your papa was after you. I mean seriously… Who the fuck does that?" Caroline questioned as she burst out laughing at the memory of them packing everything and bolting right out of New Orleans because Mikael was after them.

"It's funny how you always seem to forget the time I saved you from that ugly old man. Really, sweetheart… I know you didn't have much manners growing up, but you spent eight years with my family. I would think that you would learn how to act like a lady by then, but I guess I was wrong. It seems like I overestimated you. I should have let that man fuck you. I shouldn't have saved you from that place."

"But you did." She reminded him even though she felt the lump begin to form in her throat because of everything that he said.

_No, Caroline. You are no longer the little girl that couldn't protect yourself. You're strong. You're brave. You have people that love you for who you are. Don't you dare listen to the jealous Original. _

"I know that and I regret it greatly. You know… I could've just killed you, but I didn't because apparently my emotions got in the way. I hope you know that I no longer care for you and if I feel the need to take your life, I will."

"Heed my warning, Nik. Kill me and I swear to god that I will take you down with me. If anybody is going to come out the victor, that will surely be me. You may be immortal, but I have something you'll never have. You're pathetic. I mean look at you! You've turned into an alcoholic who needs to shave, get a haircut, and get a new stylist. That leather jacket is seriously not doing it for you." She finished with a shake of her head.

"I'd hate to break it to you, darling Caroline but before you start saying what's wrong with me, look at yourself first. I would think that you would cover up after your childhood, but I guess I was mistaken. I guess Kol was right… Once a whore, always a whore." He shrugged as he remembered Kol saying that when they brought her to their mansion.

Caroline's patience ran out then and she grabbed the nearest object and threw it at him. It happened to be a table knife and he caught it right before it made contact with his eye.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Klaus asked her as he dropped the knife on the table and propped his legs onto the table.

"Fuck you," she spat.

Caroline felt her blood begin to boil because of what he said and she was trying to hold herself back, because she had to keep herself in line or else Klaus would be able to prove that she was too emotional to be the ruler of New Orleans.

"Not yet," he smirked. "Although, I'm almost sure you've fucked thousands of men in your lifetime."

"You know what, Klaus. The only thing that you have over me is that I was a part of a brothel when I was twelve. That was one hundred and fifteen years ago, so why don't you get over it?"

"Why would I? Ever since I walked through that bar I've regretted my decision on saving your ass that day. I should have let you rot away in that place, but for some reason I couldn't bear it."

"And do you want to know why you couldn't bear it?"

"Please do enlighten me, love. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Perhaps, you've gotten more intelligent." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Caroline ignored his last words and started, "You couldn't bear to leave me there because you knew that I was a helpless child. Like you." She shrugged.

"I beg your pardon?" He questioned, his eyes wide.

"Oh come on, Klaus… That night you brought me to your home. I was having a nightmare and you came into my room and told me a story. A story about a little boy who nobody loved. You then told me the ending. You told me that the boy that was once helpless was no longer a boy, but a man. A man that could protect himself from bad people."

"That was a work of fiction. It has nothing to do with me." He told her as he remembered that conversation he had with her.

"Maybe that is what you want to believe, but I'm not stupid. I wasn't then and I sure as hell am not, now. I figured it out. I knew that you were talking about yourself."

"That's impossible." He shook his head.

"Are you sure about that? I looked into your eyes the whole time. Your eyes went from anger to sadness and then to victory. I never mentioned it because I didn't want to add salt to the wound, but since you love mentioning what I had to go through, I guess I'll just have to mention what you had to go through."

"I hope you know that that no longer bothers me." He snapped.

"Really? Then why do I see unshed tears in your eyes? Remember this, Niklaus Mikaelson… When I look into your eyes I know what you're feeling, and that is what I will use against you. I hope you understand that." She told him before she looked into his eyes once more, before she left the bar.

Klaus sat there with his hands on the table and he knew then that the innocent Caroline that he once knew was long dead and gone.

* * *

There you have it! I hope it was worth the wait!

I do not know when I will update next because my wrist is hurting really bad and I have to take a break from writing, so I apologize in advance.

Please Leave Feedback :D

~Hana :p


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